FOCACCIA BARESE WITH CHERRY TOMATOES, GRILLED ARTICHOKES AND DRY OREGANO (portions for one round focaccia - 30 cm diameter)
Ingredients:
- 150 gr Risciola flour (or all purpose flour)
- 100 gr Semola flour
- 160 gr water at room temperature
- 70 gr potatoes (without skin)
- 2 gr dry yeast
- 15 gr olive oil
- 6 gr salt
- 150 gr cherry tomatoes
- 100 gr grilled artichokes
- Dry oregano
- Salt and olive oil
Peel the potatoes and boil them in a good amount of water. They will be ready when you can easily go in with a fork. Let them cool down and then smash them as good as possible, the purèè needs to be homogeneous and therefore without clumps.
In a big bowl mix the two flours and the dry yeast. Slowly add the water and start mixing with your hands (in the bowl). With the last drops of water add the salt, keep mixing until the flour is all incorporated. Finally add the oil and the potatoes (cold), mix them into the dough. Knead the dough in the bowl until everything is well incorporated. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 15 minutes. After this time, do the first round of stretch and folds. Gently pull the dough from one corner and push it back gently into the middle part of the dough. Repeat the same procedure 4 times for each corner of the dough. Cover it and let it rest for another 15 minutes. Continue with another round of stretch and fold. Cover the bowl and let it rest at room temperature for about 2h (If your house is particularly cold, it might take longer. The dough is ready when doubled in volume).
After this time. Take your round mold and coate it with some olive oil, use a piece of kitchen paper to even it up on the whole surface. Remove the focaccia dough from the bowl and put it directly into the mold. Oil your fingers a little and start gently pushing the dough towards the edges of the mold. The whole surface needs to be covered. With your fingertips start making the typical focaccia holes all over the surface. Do not be too hard on the dough or you will break it.
Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and the artichokes in smaller pieces. Add them on the focaccia, pressing them down into the dough a little. Add some dry oregano, some good salt and olive oil.
Bake the focaccia barese for about 20 minutes at 250°C in a preheated oven. If the bottom is not well cooked, remove the focaccia from its mold and let it bake for another 5 minutes directly on an oven grid.
